I Draw Too
by purple-space-eyes
Summary: Summary: She knew a boy who liked to draw, but he drew pictures nobody saw. High School AU. Everlark.
1. Chapter 1

**i.**

 ** _Katniss._**

Katniss always has known that there's something different about Peeta Mellark. Though surrounded with the popular, pampered groups of guys and (especially) girls, he's never seemed like any of them. While he has eyes that are gentle and bright, the others are narrow and sly. Untrustworthy.

For the years, she's silently watched him grow and it seems he has yet to glance her way. And she asks herself, _what's to notice?_

Compared to many girls, Katniss can easily say she is quite plain and ordinary. She is nothing like the busty cheerleaders and she doesn't consider herself to be pretty enough to one of the prettier nerd girls like Annie, who just happens to be the girlfriend of Peeta's best friend, Finnick Odair. And though she can't completely identify with the only people she can possibly think of placing in the category of 'friends', Johanna and Cressida's punk rock style, she has to admit, is a personal preference but on the simpler side of the look like black jeans or long, well-worn flannels. She especially likes the ones that are too big.

And that's exactly what she's wearing when he stoops to the floor right along with her after being purposefully knocked into before being called an _emo_ _freak_ under another girl's breath. But, Katniss pretends to not hear the girl's gibe, nor does she register that someone is actually helping her pick up her things before some of it manages to get crushed under uncaring shoes of the world of careless teens surrounding her. However, she recognizes his voice without a doubt, for not another could sound more like sweet honey than his.

"Are you okay, Katniss?" He asks after telling someone to get off one of Katniss' stray papers and continues to gather more scattered papers that litter the cold, white floor. _Since when does he know her name?_

Whipping her head around to face him, she's met with those big, blue eyes that she is just now realizing how insanely blue they really are up close. Very, very up close. When she registers that he's waiting for her to either confirm or deny her state of wellbeing, she somehow manages a practically inaudible _I'm fine_ , before quickly looking away from the pairs of sapphires that Peeta Mellark apparently wears as eyes. She looks away as soon as the words barely leave her mouth and hastily stuffs askew papers and books into her sad, floppy, army-green messenger bag and makes a move to stand to her feet only to realize that Peeta has offered her his hand in assistance. She doesn't take it and instead she pulls on one of her infamous scowls; but he's not fazed by her narrowed eyes or the cold facade that everyone sees.

Once she's back on her feet, she consciously tugs on the oversized sleeves of her green and black button up plaid shirt her eyes flit across his form which she can now see at a much better angle.

It is well known that at Panem High that the Mellark brothers all come with broad shoulders and arms thickened with hard-earned muscle from the athletics that they participate in, the manual labor of bakery, and probably more. Peeta's fair skin stands out against the dark blue shirt and seems to stretch across his chest just enough to subtly show off the sculpted chest that lies beneath. His black, maroon, and white varsity jacket that he sports practically all the time, drapes over his shoulders and bunches just a little at his wrists. Her eyes travel north and note the defined line of his jaw and the slight arch of his cheekbones along with the infamous, golden curls that all Mellark boys have known to harbor at some stage in their life. Peeta's just seem to want to remain as wavy as they were when he was a little boy. And secretly, Katniss hopes they stay that way. The lopsided grin that grazes his lips just gives her a glimpse of his pearly white teeth and she wonders for an instant how they can be that white. It's almost blinding and that's just a few of them.

"Katniss?" His voice sounds concerned but border lining amusement. She's been staring again, hasn't she?

Probably (no, definitely) blushing a furious shade of scarlet, Katniss tries to pathetically keep the heat from showing on her face, as she spots the remaining loose papers Peeta holds in his hand. To attempt to save a sliver of her dignity, she snatches the papers from his hand hastily, grumbles out what she hopes to be a something along the lines of a _thank you_ and storms off in the opposite direction of Peeta Mellark with self-depreciating thoughts and frustrations with herself overtaking her mind so thickly that it's like she walks blindly through the crowd of people.

She walks so fast, she barely registers that she now stands beside her car that she parked this morning and the frustrating blush (that shouldn't even exist) has yet to leave her cheeks, neck, and shoulders. This is the effect Peeta has on her. And she often wonders why. Because she sure as hell doesn't know.

Katniss sighs into the cold, October air as she manually unlocks the car door before clicking the button on the inside of the driver's door and unlocking the rest of the car. When she tosses her bag into the back of the car, she hears _ping_ sound come from her phone. Pulling out her phone, she sees it's a text from her sister and rolls her eyes.

 **Primrose: _Getting a ride home with one of the girls. Don't wait up!_**

What looks like four or ten emojis follow after the text and Katniss lets out a sigh.

 _Could she say a more basic girl thing?_ Katniss wonders as she climbs into her old corolla. She cranks the engine and the car revs to life with a little bit of a stutter. Checking to confirm that a group of obnoxiously chatty and bubbly girls or cocky and arrogant guys are not in her way, Katniss slowly lifts her foot off the break and the car begins to roll backwards. After successfully pulling out of the space, she changes gears and begins to head down the pavement and toward another hell that awaits her after this hell. As she nears the exit, she spots a familiar sight of golden waves just up ahead. She notices he's looking down at his car as if something is wrong.

When she pulls up closer, she guesses she should try to make amends for her coldness earlier. He was only trying to help after all. After having a good three minute battle with herself, she decides that she might and probably _should_ ask if anything is wrong. So before she can talk herself out of it, she stops next to his car and rolls down her window to peer out at him.

"Peeta?" Her voice comes out embarrassingly shy. But she doesn't sound too hostile which is positive thing she guesses. Still, damn her lack in social situations.

When he turns his head around, it almost seems like his face lights up even if he was scowling (admittedly, pretty adorably) just moments ago. This time, Katniss is met with the full glow of Peeta Mellark's smile as her shoves his hands into his front pockets and comes over to her car. Which he seems to tower over, by the way. He bends down to meet her eye level and she vaguely flushes at how close he is to her. Again.

"Hello again, Katniss." He greets with a casual, but teasing manner.

For a moment, she thinks of how she should word her sentence so she doesn't completely flop up and say a mesh of words that just fall out of her mouth like word vomit. "Car trouble?"

He gives a half-hearted, short laugh that seems almost humorless. "Something like that." He mutters.

She nods her head in sympathy as she purses her lips together and begins to tap her fingers against the steering wheel in her car nervously. "What's wrong?" She asks lamely.

"I...um, have a flat tire." He shrugs like it's not a big deal as he exhales through his mouth and she can see his breath in the frosty air. She glances over his shoulder at the jet black Chevrolet Cruze that looks to be almost new.

"On a new car?" Katniss asks suspiciously without thinking. She slaps her hand over her mouth and her face once more becomes significantly redder.

But Peeta chuckles a little at her reaction and brushes it off. "It seems so. Besides, at least I wasn't driving when I realized that it was flat." He reasons positively.

She shrugs her shoulder in agreement. "I suppose you're right." Katniss relents. Before Katniss can lose her nerve or silently talk herself out of it, she blurts out another question. Well, more like screams it at his face. "Do you need a ride?" She asks far too loudly and inwardly cringes after she's done.

If it's humanly possible, this guy's smile gets even wider. _Jesus Christ, whose smile can get that big without breaking?_ Katniss asks herself silently. But she doesn't have time to ponder it because he answering her.

"If it's not too much trouble, that'd be great. Sure as hell beats calling my mother and asking her to come pick me up. Which, she might not have even if I explained my situation. You know, with work and all." Peeta adds as an afterthought. And she knows the tone is supposed to be jovial and joking, but she somehow can't bring herself to think that he's not telling the truth about his mother. It's no secret around town that the Mellarks own a very successful and thriving string of bakeries across North America. And it's also no secret that the Mellark family is far more than well off financially.

"Sure, get in." She manages and offers him a ghost of a grin.

"Thanks a lot, Katniss. I owe you." He promises sincerely as he stands up straight once more and makes his way over to his own car. Normally, she doesn't trust people's promises. After hearing so many hallow vows, one tends to forgo the sincerity of any oath or promise. But, somehow, _he's_ different. Something inside of her seems to whisper in her ear that he's… _real._

Peeta opens the trunk to his car and bends over to retrieve his bag and what looks to be his sports bag as well. While he rummages through the contents in the back of his car, Katniss takes the time to admire his form from the back and watches as his back strains against the long-sleeved, navy shirt she saw earlier. Her eyes wander down to the dark jeans that hug his ass and make it look quite fantastic if she does say so herself. Instantly, she turns around and sets her eyes on the road ahead and her scowl returns with more vigor as she chides herself when she tries to fight off more heat that springs to her cheeks.

He opens the passenger's side and slips in after asking her what she wants him to do with his stuff and she tells him to put it in the back seat. She notes that one of the sleeves of his varsity jack is poking out of his unused athletic bag which suggests he may have shoved it into the bag in a hasty manner. With that settled, she finally takes her foot off the break and they pull out of the school's parking lot.

They drive along in somewhat awkward and somewhat comfortable silence. After what felt like five minutes, which was probably only like two, she decides to make an attempt to get rid of some of the awkward tension. "So, I'm assuming you didn't have practice today?" She both internally and externally cringes as soon as the words leave her mouth. Could she not have come up with something better to ask?

Peeta is silent for a moment and Katniss begins to vigorously chastise herself. _Of course he doesn't want you talking to him. He's just trying to be nice and quiet because you decided that it was a good idea to offer him a ride home. Great job, brainless._ She does not dare look at him.

"Coach gave us, probably the only the only time this will happen by the way, a day off from practice." Peeta explains as they drive along. "See, he co-owns this nice little diner not far from the school. And something must've really been pretty bad for his staff to call him and be him to come over during the time he's deemed 'sacred'." He adds air quotes around the word 'sacred' and her lips perk up ever so slightly at the gesture.

She'll have to see what happened during her next shift. Hopefully nothing too terrible for both her sake and her employer's. This new bit of information causes Katniss' stomach to begin twisting into all too familiar knots and she tries to subtly shift in her seat to hide from Peeta her abrupt change in behavior. Instead, she nods her own head and tells him that she hopes everything is okay with his coach's restaurant. And in return he nods his head as he thanks her and promises to let his coach know that she hopes everything turns out for the best. Which she does hope that everything will turn out for the best. Afterwards, a more compatible silence fills the car's atmosphere and she relaxes a little allowing her shoulders to slump forward a bit.

"Thanks again, Katniss. Really, I'll pay you back for the gas if you want." Peeta offers killing the quiet they once had.

She scowls at this. "I can pay for my own gas, Peeta." She knows it sounds harsh, but she's always been able to – _had to_ _–_ work for the money she spends and she takes pride in that. Or she tries to.

"Katniss, I don't mean it in a pity-sort-of way." He clarifies as if he's read her mind. "I just mean it as a courtesy that I pay you back the money you have to use to get me home at an inconvenience."

After pondering his words for a little while, she attempts to crack a joke though she doesn't laugh much at it. "You sounded so formal."

And from the corner of her eye, she spots his blush that tints his cheeks.

"I, er, didn't mean to." He mumbles almost shyly.

She's about to retort when her car beeps at her and she realizes that she does, indeed, need gas for her car. "Um, we're going to have to stop by the gas station and, uh, get some gas." She finishes awkwardly.

He gives her a nod and reaches back for his backpack to probably retrieve his wallet.

"No," She protests as she places her small, cold hand on the forearm clad in soft, navy fabric. She then realizes that the soft fabric only enhances how well she can feel the hard muscle beneath it as she wills herself to not turn pink again. The first many times were humiliating enough even if he didn't catch her.

"Katniss,-"

She shakes her head. "We're not arguing about this. It's just gas, Peeta. Besides, if you want to repay me, just be better company than my sister."

It's supposed to be a joke, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't enjoying his company. But it's just a little. That's it.

"You've always been stubborn haven't you?" He teases.

 _How would you_ _…_ Quickly, Katniss pushes away any thoughts about Peeta actually paying attention to her before today. It's impossible.

She lets out a faint snort and allows the corners of her lips to slightly quirk up. "You have no idea." She mumbles mostly to herself but she doesn't know if he heard her. If he did, he doesn't come up with a quick or witty comment to retaliate with.

They pull up to a kind of rundown gas station that has been around for quite a while. It's always where she gets gas. When she pulls up to one of the pumps, she gets out of the car and steps into the cold weather once more.

"I'll be right back. I have to go pay inside. Try not to blow up my car while I'm gone, okay, Mellark?" She mumbles sarcastically.

"I'll do my best." Peeta retorts.

Katniss shuts the door to the car and makes her way into the little building. As usual, she pays the guy that always works there enough to fill her tank up. Just as she's about to walk away from the counter, she spots out of the corner of her eye a bright, silver packet with a blue logo. For a moment, she kind of blankly stars at the little packet of mini Yorks. She makes up her mind and snatches up the bag, hands over the money, and heads out the door.

Call her stalkerish, but she knows for a fact that every day at lunch, Peeta has a single York mint patty with his lunch. So she assumes they are his favorite. Once she's back out at the car she pockets the candy and begins the fill the car. As she waits, Katniss gets back into the car with Peeta to find him scrolling through her iPod with all her music on it. Upon being caught, his cheeks flame up once again against his fair skin.

"I-I'm sorry, Katniss. I thought you'd enjoy some music on the way to my place so you don't have to listen to my aimless chatter." He says sheepishly as he rubs the back of his neck in a nervous manner. She didn't think Peeta got nervous. Especially around someone as unimportant as her.

But she doesn't say a word about it. Instead, she whips out the pack of York mint patties and tosses them into his lap.

The shock if obvious on his face. "How did you-"

Before he can even finish his question, her sensitive ears hear the pump come to a stop. She unceremoniously kicks open the door and practically falls out of the car with the grace of a panda. On ice. And wearing roller skates instead of ice skates.

Eventually, she knows she can't stay outside forever and soon she's going to have to face the music. And the fact that she just did something completely out of her element doesn't boost her confidence at all. When she finally womans up, she gets back into her car and starts the engine. This time with her music playing.

For a while that's all she hears. Just her music, her sanity, her safe haven.

But eventually, he calmly shuts the music off and she realizes she's just been driving for the last couple songs in no particular direction.

His voice is like daggers to her heart and she feels very, very humiliated. "How did you know that I really, really like these?" He inquires in a scarily calm tone.

She's quiet for a moment before she replies in a low voice, "You eat one every day at the end of your lunch." She mumbles with her eyes on the road, but she can feel his gaze boring into the side of her head with those intense, blue eyes.

But she leaves it at that.

"Thank you, Katniss. It means a lot to me."

She can practically hear the smile in his voice. Neither of them speak for the rest of the time that it takes them to get to Peeta's house except for when he told her to turn here and there. And when they arrive, she kills the engine and unlocks the car to let him out. He still holds the York in his hand in a way she can only describe as delicate. As if he's afraid that it may disappear at any time. He's outside of her car and she expects him to head up to his luxurious and beautiful home and leave her alone.

But he plops his bag down on the pavement outside of the tall, intimidating, iron gates and makes his way around the car and bends down by the driver's side exactly like he did earlier today. And like earlier today, she rolls down her window to peer out at him.

"Katniss…" He trails off as if he's trying to find the right words to say. Which she finds kind of strange. Peeta has always been known to have a silver tongue. Able to smoothly talk his way in or out of any conversation. And she doesn't know whether it's a good or bad thing that Peeta falters with his words around her. "Damn, I feel like I've said the same thing over and over again." He mumbles almost embarrassingly as he lets out a humorless chuckle.

Her shoulders shrug indifferently. "That's okay." She reassures. "I normally don't say anything at all."

Peeta's full lips spread into a sweet smile and she can't help but offer the smallest grin in return. "Thanks a ton, Katniss. I don't know what I'd done if you hadn't offered to give me a ride."

"I think it's only fair that since you helped pick up my shit in the hallway that I give you a lift home." Katniss reasons.

"I'm sure anyone else would have done the same." Peeta says.

Katniss shakes her head. "You're…You're the first of none." She mutters bitterly.

Peeta's face twists into what can only be described as shock and maybe…anger. "What?"

She sighs and looks down at her hands that sit tightly clasped in her lap. "No one ever helps me out. And that's whatever. I'm used to it. No one wants to be seen with a freak, Peeta, so I won't expect you to do it again."

 _Fuck, just when I thought this entire debacle was going in a positive direction, I open my pessimistic mouth and says this shit._ Katniss internally chastises.

"What do you mean, you're _used to it_?" He asks with what she can only describe as an angry tremble in his voice. And she doesn't understand why he's getting so worked up about it. She's dealt with it since the middle of freshman year when a ton of shit went down along with it. What's one more time? She probably deserves it anyways.

"It doesn't matter, Peeta." She mumbles, brushing him off. Her hands return shakily to the steering wheel. "I've dealt with it for years. Don't think too hard on it." She means for it to be a cynical and sarcastic joke, but his tensed expression and clenched jaw suggests he took it otherwise.

"I'm s–"

"Don't tell me you're sorry." She snaps quickly. "I probably deserve it anyway. So it's suck it up and take it, right?"

He fixates her with a piercing stare that cuts her straight to the core and when he opens his mouth to speak again, his voice is low and almost…menacing. "Katniss, you shouldn't be treated like that and you shouldn't feel like you deserve it. No one should, but especially not you."

Katniss hears herself scoff.

"Oh, and what's that supposed to mean?" She asks rhetorically with a humorless chuckle. "Peeta, we haven't ever spoken a single word to each other until today. What makes you think you know I don't deserve hell? The answer is you don't." Katniss let's out a huff, and she realizes that as this conversation goes on, she's most likely driving him further and further away from her. _Good,_ Katniss thinks to herself. _I'll just ruin his life like I've ruined others._ "Look, people just don't care about someone like me. And that's fine. I don't care."

And as much as she tells herself that it's the truth, a small part of her knows she's lying. Admittedly, she's always had Johanna and Cressida, but even when it's just the three of them doing something together, she can't help but feel…

"Katniss, I care about you." Peeta retorts.

She grits her teeth and takes a few deep breaths. "Don't go and start saying things you don't mean."

"I do me-"

"No, you don't." Katniss immediately retorts. And though she means to sound like she's trying to convince him, it sounds more like she's trying to convince herself more. "A twenty minute car ride doesn't make us close and it sure as hell doesn't mean you give a flying fuck about me. I gave you a ride home to repay you for helping me with the papers in the hall. I don't care about you, like you don't care about me."

 _That's it, Katniss. Keep pushing him away. He won't hurt you if he hates you. You can just live with it, knowing that he thinks you're a complete bitch and that's better than letting him get too close._

"You're trying to push me away." It's not a question. It's a statement and she's been caught red-handed. His eyes of cobalt blue gaze into hers with such fervor that she can't bring herself to break their intense stare. "Katniss, you don't know and can't change what I think or how I feel." Peeta insists with a gentle but forceful tone. "I know damn well that you _don't_ deserve hell. And those people at school don't know what the fuck they're talking about if they think you are anything but…" He trails off and seems to think for a little before practically whispering a word that she never thought she'd hear anyone say to her. "Perfect."

She's never felt her chest hurt like this. It feels like her heart is trying to collapse on itself and at the same time it feels like it's being squeezed so tightly it may shrivel up and become useless. Her heart aches and she doesn't like it. But she can't allow herself to think that _anyone_ – let alone him – could care what happened to her. Her mind flies to everything she knows about herself. She'll never be good enough, nor will she ever be the daughter her parents want her to be. Her hair will never be blonde like Prim's, her eyes will never be a crystal and sparkling blue like her sister's either. No matter who or what her mother and father want her to be, she just … can't.

"You don't know the effect you have on people, Katniss." Peeta admits "You just don't know, do you?"

Now she registers that his face is dangerously close to hers once again and her mind starts wheeling with a million different scenarios in which this isn't really happening. _Did the team make a bet on this? On me and him? If he could seduce me? Is this a prank? A set up? Why is he still here? Does he not know how fucked up I am like everyone else does? Is he just doing this to make fun of me in the end? Why is this happening? And why don't I want to push him away anymore? Is he not aware of the effect_ he's _had on me for years?_

"Peeta!" High and shrill is the voice that cuts their moment in half with a sharp tone like an arrow piercing through the crisp air.

Peeta's face twists into a scowl, all gentleness and kindness gone as soon as he lifts his head to lay eyes on Vivian Mellark. It's no secret that Vivian is a cold and stone-like woman who revels in her husband's riches and shows off just how well off she is by decorating her exterior with such extravagant and dazzling ways, hiding that she is an arrogant and haughty woman underneath.

"Mother." His voice is stony and brusque. They must not see eye to eye very often, and Katniss, of all people, understands that most of all.

Her lifeless, brown eyes fall to Katniss who looks up at the woman with an expressionless face, not knowing what to do. She turns her nose up at her and clicks her tongue in disgust. "What are you doing talking to this _Seam brat_?" Vivian spits the words like they leave a bad taste in her mouth and fixates her son with a raised eyebrow.

"This is _Katniss Everdeen_ ," He says adding an emphasis on Katniss' name. "She was kind enough to drive me home so that I would bother you and father at work. Besides, I didn't expect to see you home so soon."

Peeta's sudden outburst of such formalities when speaking with his mother shocks Katniss. As he speaks with his mother, the tension present can very well be cut with a knife it's so thick and obvious. Peeta continues to place an emphasis on her name as his mother continues to call her variations of Seam slang that she acts like she ignores. She doesn't often care due to the fact that everyone has and will continue to call her different names, but recently, she's become very good as masking her emotions. Peeta's demeanor has gone from casual to formal in a matter of milliseconds and as she doesn't know how to diffuse the tension so she continues to awkwardly sit in the driver's seat of her car and return her hands to her lap wringing them tightly once more.

"Yes, well," Her voice drops and she her eyes do the same. Vivian's eyes are once more glaring down at Katniss with disgust. She looks as if she believes that her son, let alone herself, shouldn't be anywhere near a low life such as she. "What's she still doing here? And where, Peeta Mellark, is that new car I bought you Saturday?"

"I _was_ going to say bye to her when you so rudely interrupted." Peeta quips meeting his mother's sharpness and annoyed tone evenly. "As for the car that _Dad_ bought me; it's at the school. Something must've happened with the tires. One's flat. Lucky I wasn't on the road when it got worse."

Katniss hears Vivian mutter something along the lines of a sarcastic _'lucky, indeed'_ and along with the fact that Peeta has called her out on her bullshit, she seems to become even angrier. But being the coward she knows she is, Katniss remains unmoving with a blank face aimed at Peeta's mother.

"Your father will not be happy about this, young man."

Ignoring his mother, Peeta leans back down to level his face with Katniss' and when she turns to face him, her mouth runs dry. Or, maybe it's been dry this entire time. Hell if she can remember with the Panem's golden boy within five feet of her for the past thirty minutes.

"I hope the next time I see you is under much lighter circumstances, Katniss."

Has she mentioned that she might secretly begin to like her name when he says it? Oddly, she feels her spirits (which she didn't know had risen in the first place) drop and what she can only describe as disappointment fill her. She can't remember another time, other than the time she's spent with Peeta of all people, when she's felt anything but numbness and hopelessness. And she realizes that no matter how he may make her feel sudden aches in her chest that she doesn't like, how his smile blinds her but makes her want to slap it right off his face, and how much she's disliked her name until she's heard Peeta say it, she hasn't completely _disliked_ his company. In that time they spent in her car, not once did he make fun of her, call her some kind of insult, make jokes about how she lacks financially, or anything of the sort. And admittedly, she may not hate him…not that she ever really did.

"I can take you home tomorrow if your car isn't fixed by then." Katniss blurts out without thinking. She mentally kicks herself.

Once again, Peeta's face lights up like the brightest tree during the Christmas season. He nods his head in a seemingly eager manner. "But I do have football practice after school till five thirty. Is that okay? I don't expect you to sit and wait for me tomorrow after school for over two hours like that."

She shrugs her shoulders impassively. "I've got no better place to be." Considering she has the day off tomorrow and she most certainly doesn't want to go home, she supposes that watching a two hour football practice can't be too terrible.

"Then I'll see you tomorrow?" His voice is so hopeful and dare she say excited. So she nods her head confirming that it's fine with her.

"Peeta just-"

And with a quick smile in Peeta's direction before shoving him away from her car with her hands through the window, giving him a small wave and telling him she'll see him later, she speeds off before she can hear Mrs. Mellark's voice anymore. Still with a small smile on her face, Katniss glances through her rear-view mirrors just in time to watch Peeta pick up his bags and march right past his nagging, glaring, angry mother and not once look back at the witch. With a bigger smile now painting her lips, she allows it to stay there for the ride to her own house as she secretly wonders how tomorrow will go when she takes one Peeta Mellark home again. This time from football practice. Fuck.

* * *

 **AN: I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! The second chapter is almost complete and I hope to post it soon. Feedback is greatly appreciated! And if you'd like, follow my tumblr _purple-space-eyes_. Thanks! **


	2. Chapter 2

**ii.**

 ** _Katniss._**

The drive back from Peeta's house is a complete blur. She still can't believe that she offered to give him a ride home the next day and after football practice no less. What the hell is was she thinking when she'd offered?

 _Right, I wasn't thinking. Now, I gotta take another shift at Abernathy and Sae's to pay for that as well._

When she pulls up to the familiar light grey house with fading paint and black shudders, she is brought out of her clouded thoughts and reminded that she's home.

When she parks outside in front of their lawn and gets out of the car, she notes that she'll have to come back out and get up some dog shit somebody left in their lawn. With a huff, Katniss kicks her car door shut. She grabs her bag from the back seat and trudges up the pavement and to her front door. After fishing out her keys from her pocket, she is pleasantly greeted with a brush of warm air that hits her instantly and warms her chilling body. Quickly, she shuts the door and locks it behind her.

The Everdeen mid-century modern house is nothing special, but it is, in her opinion, pretty nice. High ceilings meet each other at odd angles and the walls are all painted in a nice shade of off white. Over the years, the dark wooden floors have been well taken care of and the beige carpet is in pretty decent shape as well. From the foyer, Katniss follows the short, familiar hallway into the kitchen where a small island sits in the median of it. She is met with a blonde, petite figure with her back turned to Katniss and spends a few seconds reveling in the silence before clearing her throat, announcing her presence.

"Katniss? I didn't hear you come through the front door. Why are you home so late?" Lilith Everdeen's voice is dreadfully calm. She makes no move to turn away from the sink where she washes the dishes to speak eye to eye with Katniss.

"I had to help a friend out. They needed a ride." Katniss answers.

She hears her mother scoff humorously. "Friend? What friend, Katniss? You have no friends. And if you did, you wouldn't deserve them. You're not socially acceptable enough and you know it. Besides, they'd just get tired of that sad cloud you bring with you everywhere."

Katniss remains silent, a seemingly impassive expression on her face. "Okay, not a friend. Just somebody."

But it seems she doesn't hear Katniss speak. "Where's my Prim?" Lilith instead asks now turning around to face Katniss, her tone no longer disbelieving but instead sweet and light.

"I don't know." She shrugs.

Her mother's face turns stony as she fixates Katniss with narrowed eyes. "How do you not know where she is? Did you honestly blow off Prim to take this mystery person home? How could you leave her at school like that?"

Katniss shifts and crosses her arms over her chest before retaliating. "She never met me at our agreed rendezvous point. When I got to the car, she texted me and told me that she was getting a ride home with someone else."

"Instead of waiting around for her, why didn't you put forth actual effort into finding your sister? If she was late, you should have known something was wrong and went to find her." Lilith argues. "She needs to be home before tonight's dinner with your father's new boss. He's really looking forward to meeting her! She _cannot_ be late."

"Mom, she'll be home in time for dinner." Katniss assures.

"You don't know that, Katniss. What if her friend gets her into an accident? What if she _dies_ in said car accident due to reckless driving?" She disputes dramatically. "Though, it is amazing that you haven't killed her yet. I'm still astonished that you even passed your driving test at all. And it's ' _mother_ ' not any of that disrespectful ' _mom_ ' shit."

Katniss' shoulders droop a little and her thoughts begin to wander again. Deep down, Katniss hopes she isn't as terrible at things as everyone says she is, but sometimes she can't help but believe it. She's too caught up in her thoughts to notice Lilith's light blue eyes examining her body and what she wore to school.

"Is that really what you wore to school today?"

The sudden change in topic has Katniss momentarily silent before her mind registers that her mother is talking again and she has no time to dwell on her thoughts until later.

"Uh, yes." She manages as she shifts anxiously under her mother's scrutinizing gaze. Her fingers tuck a few stray strands behind her ear as she squirms under Lilith's scrutinizing gaze.

"Hm, no wonder you have no boyfriend or social life, in general, for that matter. You don't dress enough like a girl. But I understand why you don't. I remember when you used to wear skirts in junior high. Not that it did you any good. Boys don't like girls with chubby little legs like yours." Lilith sniffs disapprovingly.

Katniss chews at her bottom lip and breaks eye contact to just glance down at her legs self-consciously. Her legs have seemed a bit heavier lately, maybe it's because of those brownies she ate the night before. She immediately wants to run upstairs and take a hot shower to wash away the day and this conversation. Along with the desire to take a nice, hot shower, Katniss' appetite diminishes considerably.

Before she forgot, and once her mother dramatically stomps away with an indignant huff like that of a small toddler, Katniss sets her bag down on the grey tile next to the black cabinets and grabbed one of the many Walmart bags from the pantry. The frosty air hits her hard when she leaves the house and she lets out a puff of air that she watches dissipate into the cold air. The dead grass crunches under her boots as she makes her way down the slope of lawn. Once the unwanted poop is in the bag, Katniss hears a car coming down the road and loud pop music blaring from the speakers. The bright red prius rolls to a stop in front of her house and she watches as the rear right door opens and out steps Primrose Everdeen. Long, straight, blonde hair is flipped over her shoulder as she retrieves her bag from the car and bids her friends adieu. Her black leggings stretch down her legs and lead into her white vans. Katniss can see the bright red hue to the hoodie she wears peeking out of the back of a familiar maroon, white, and black varsity jacket. When she turns around to walk around the car, not noticing her sister standing nearby, Katniss can see in big, maroon letters outlined in white with black wool behind them, which read:

 ** _HAWTHORNE_**.

The red prius drives off leaving her sister at their house. Suddenly, as if she sensed her presence, Primrose glances over at Katniss. She takes in her sister standing in the lawn with an oversized, green flannel with all the buttons buttoned up to her chin and the hem falling to mid-thigh very loosely over black jeans with old, scuffed combat boots, and her hair in a messy braid.

"Oh, you're home," is all she says indifferently before heading up into the house and shutting the door with a _click_.

Wordlessly, Katniss ties up the bag and tosses it into the trash bin outside before following her sister into the house. As she walks into the kitchen, she is greeted with the sounds of Lilith making a big fuss over Prim's wellbeing. Her mother is stands in the kitchen with Prim in her arms as she asks if Prim was drugged or peer pressured into joining a gang. Katniss rolls her eyes at the exaggerated display of over the top motherly doting Lilith shows her little sister as she grips her in a tight hug, patting her head affectionately.

"Mom, don't worry. I'm fine." Prim insists forcefully as she attempts to break out of her mother's grasp. "I just got a ride home with Thalia and Cash. No biggie."

Lilith lets out a sigh and a little sniffle as she takes Prim's hands in her own. "I know it's not a big deal, but I was worried sick! And when Katniss came home without you saying she helped someone _else_ get home, I was about to explode. You know how she is. Reluctant to help anyone but herself."

 _I didn't think helping Peeta get home was selfish_ _…_ _but maybe_ _…_

"You know, I've made a decision." Lilith suddenly announces her trembling voice gone and replaced with a new found tone of finality. "From now on, if Cash will, you'll ride home with her. You're probably safer in her car than in Katniss' old corolla."

While Lilith continues to dote on Prim and Prim continues to scoff and snap at her mother's attempts to relate to her daughter, Katniss picks up her messenger bag and silently heads up the carpeted stairs. She makes her way down the hallway and into the smallest room farthest away from the master suite. Also known as Prim's room. Lilith and Gordon claim she needs as much private space as possible to practice her cheering and ballet skills.

Opening the door to her room, Katniss is met with her twin sized bed that just fits on the wall opposite to her. Her bed sits under a large, bay window that practically makes up the wall itself. On the wall to her right sits a simple, small, black desk with a plastic, swiveling chair to match, and a lamp on the corner. Accompanying the desk on the left, a door leads into an add-on bathroom that Lilith had built on a few years ago so that she and her husband didn't have to share a bathroom with their eldest. And to the left of the doorway, a black chest of drawers along with a tiny closet that Katniss can just barely fit into when she sits down Indian style.

With a sigh, she tosses her bag onto the bed's black quilt and begins to remove her cloths as she is now in desperate need of a shower. Her inner thoughts have quieted for the time being and have been replaced with numbness instead. After she steps into the narrow shower cubical with a glass door, she goes through the motions and soaks her hair after removing the small braids she planted throughout her dark locks earlier that morning. Her hands lather her hair with shampoo before taking the spherical, white loofah and squirting soap onto it. She scrubs her body clean of any dirt and stands under the running water as the suds disappear down the drain. The only noise filling the small space she can hear is the running water coming into contact with her head but she ignores all sounds as her eyes remain shut and the water continues to trickle down her body. Methodically, she twists the water off and steps out onto the towel that acts as a rug so she doesn't drip water onto the grey tile. When she notices the mirror above her small, pedestal sink isn't steamed up, it hits her.

She just took a shower in cold water and didn't even register it. Her skin is like ice and the hair plastered to her back makes her skin break out in goosebumps. As fast as she can, she takes a towel and dries off her body before trying to towel dry her hair as best as she can. She secures the towel atop her head and pads into her room to quickly grab a pair of cotton boyshorts, warm, baggy sweats, and a long sleeved t shirt. In a few seconds she's back in the bathroom getting dressed.

After she braids her long, ebony hair, Katniss makes her way over to her twin sized bed. Pulling back the covers to reveal fuzzy, warm blankets hidden beneath the quilt, she smiles a little to herself. Her room doesn't get very warm during the fall or the winter and with just her quilt, she gets pretty cold at night. Over the last two years of working at Abernathy and Sae's, Katniss has managed to use the money she has left over from every paycheck to slowly add to her winter comforts. Now, she has three plush blankets hidden under her quilt and a body pillow she shoves under her bed when she gets up every morning.

If her parents ever knew she had the money to buy these few extra things, they'd begin to make her buy a few of Prim's needs before her own. But this is the one thing Katniss allows herself to be selfish with.

Since her father is having his boss over later tonight, she knows that (like most nights) her parents will not want to even see her shadow. So in her mind, a nap doesn't sound too bad. Getting onto her knees, she tugs the plump body pillow from under her bed and tosses it onto her mattress. Katniss pushes her bag off her bed, pleased that she managed to finish her homework at school. Before she does anything else, she shuts the door to her room and locks it. After locking the door she pulls her ancient, miniature laptop from her bag and sets it on her desk before plugging it in. Katniss pulls together the black curtains to the bay window and plugs her iPhone 4 along with her iPod into the outlet just below the window. One just barely functions as a proper phone while the other contains her music, but both have cracked screens. Her twin bed is just tall enough to place a section of Prim's old memory foam on the wood under the window so that Katniss has just a little more room to move. After she positions the body pillow on the edge of the bed and fluffs her old pillow, Katniss burrows herself under the warm blankets and falls into a familiar blackness.

She doesn't know what time she fell asleep but she awakes to a banging on her door that she can't sleep through. Anxiety washes through her and she has to quickly shove the black comforter back up the bed along with stuffing the body pillow safely under her bed. When she unlocks and answers the door, she is met with her mother and father. Fire glowing from both their eyes.

"Why did you not tell us you drove _Peeta Mellark_ home today after school?" Lilith's fiery tone demands.

"Not to mention, how did you not manage to kill or maim him in the process?" Gordon Everdeen adds.

Baffled and attempting to wipe away the sleep from her eyes, Katniss shakes her head a little trying to comprehend both their questions.

"It's not like you ever asked me." Katniss manages to retort lowly.

"Downstairs, when your father's boss and his family arrived, everything was just fine." Lilith explains. "Until the youngest brother asked where you were."

At the mention of Peeta, Katniss' pulse quickens and she doesn't understand why he has this effect on her. Didn't he say something similar to her not just hours ago? Along with that, why is he asking about her?

Silence encases the three while Lilith and Gordon expectantly stare down at Katniss. Eventually, her parents' impatience heightens. "Katniss Irene Everdeen," her father's voice thunders. "You will _not_ be bothering Peeta Mellark again. His father is very particular about with whom his son is seen with. And I will not allow you to risk my job or your sister's future because you can't leave the poor boy alone. Besides, he'd probably desire much more favorable company anyway."

You'd think she'd be used to it by now, but their words still sting. She must have zoned out for a little, because suddenly, she registers that her parents have left her standing alone outside her room and her bare feet have made imprints in the beige carpet. Katniss moves, but she doesn't feel the carpet under her feet or the worn out fabric of the quilt on her bed when she sits down.

She worries her bottom lip between her teeth as she absent mindedly picks off the chapped skin with her teeth and blows it away. A familiar numbness and feeling of hopeless wave washes over her and she lays down, not bothering to cover up or even pull out her pillow. Instead, her eyes gaze out the window, but she sees nothing.

The second time Katniss is jolted awake by a loud noise, it's by her alarm rather than her angry parents. Her phone is vibrating and producing an earsplitting sound that makes her head hurt. Sleepily, Katniss taps her finger against the mangled screen and manages to shut the alarm off. She rolls over and sits on the edge of her bed before pushing herself off the side and making her way over to her chest of drawers.

Her hands feel around the second drawer for a little until her fingers brush against a familiar fabric. Grasping the cotton shirt between her fingers, Katniss pulls out a dark purple, long-sleeved shirt that comes to her mid-thigh. It's far too big for her, but she likes the comfortable fabric. As she dresses, she slides into her black jeans and laces up her everyday combat boots.

She yanks a grey zip-up from her closet, quickly brushes her teeth, and pulls out the band from her hair, which she lays on the edge of her sink, at the end of her hair before running her fingers through the messy braid. Her eyes glance down at her phone and widen when she sees the time. In a panic, she rushes out of the tiny bathroom, scoops up her discarded bag from the yesterday, Katniss rushes down the stairs and into the kitchen to fix breakfast for herself and her family. Since today is Friday, she knows that her family will probably want something bready and carb induced or something of the like. She throws waffles into the press and sets the syrup out on the kitchen table.

Half an hour later, food is cooling on the table, coffee is made, and the rest of the Everdeens come filing down the stairs.

"It's nice to see you're on time this morning, Katniss." Her mother sniffs ungratefully as she sits down at the table to begin cutting into her stack of waffles.

"Yes, and it seems that you've managed to not burn them like last week. Congratulations." Prim chimes in as she delicately takes a sip of her water, but sarcasm tints her tone. For the last four months, Prim has been adapting to the vegan diet claiming that she it's better for her and she wants to cut meat and dairy products from her diet because they cause her to gain weight.

Her father grunts his approval and they begin to chatter with each other about their plans for the day. From her spot in the kitchen, Katniss nibbles on her breakfast but makes no move to join her parents and her sister.

"Prim, you look prettier by the day." Katniss' mother declares as she smiles lovingly at her daughter.

"Your mother's right," her father chimes. "Besides, at least you take care of yourself."

Katniss tries to ignore their obvious, verbal jabs at her and as she looks down at the two and a half waffles that remain in her plate, she stomach is suddenly overcome with nausea and she can't help but self-consciously run her hand over her stomach.

She needs to get out of there.

Quickly, Katniss moves to dump the rest of the food on her plate into the trash. As soon as the lid of the trash can makes the loud _smash_ noise against the metal.

"Katniss? Are you done so soon?" Lilith's voice asks.

Katniss nods her head curtly before bending over to snatch up her bag and hastily make her way to the front door. If her mother calls out to her to reprimand her for not giving a proper response or her father yells at her for disrespecting her mother, then she doesn't hear their angry shouts. Once she's in her she wishes she had time to crank up the car before she got in it to drive. With a sigh, she glanced in her mirrors while she turned the key in the ignition. Suddenly, she realized she hadn't rebraided her hair from earlier. She checked her wrist to see if she'd slipped a band on before she left her bathroom. But as she began replaying her morning, she remembers she left it on the edge of her sink.

In hindsight, she can go back and grab one from the house, but at the same time, she doesn't want to face her parents and the pending yelling session she's bound to encounter…again. Hesitantly, she glances back in the mirror and brushes a wavy strand away from her face. Maybe it doesn't look so bad…

When she gets to school ten minutes later, she parks her car like always and trudges into the building that she loathes so much. As she passes people in the halls, she pretends to be not hear their snide comments or their spiteful jeers.

 _Freak._

 _Cutter._

 _Slut._

 _Pathetic._

 _Ugly bitch._

 _Waste of space._

 _Nobody._

At her locker, she mechanically pulls out her physics book and puts her literature book in place of the physics book. She leans her head against the locker door for a second and stares vacantly at nothing in particular for a few long seconds. When she shuts her locker, she gasps.

Standing right beside her locker, is the one and only Peeta Mellark. How did she not realize how much taller he was than her five foot one frame? He offers her a smile much shier than the ones from the day before as his hand rubs the back of his neck almost in a nervous sort of way. Wait, why is he here again?

When she continues to just stare at him with a questioning expression, he takes this as a sign to start talking and explaining himself. Apparently.

"Hey, Katniss I just-I mean, I-I wanted to-"

"Peeta!"

Katniss knows that voice. She's heard it call her every insult in the book and she could never mistake it for another's.

Down the hall she flounces in all her cliché sunny blonde, tight, name-brand jeans, and over-priced PINK glory. If the basic white girl population needed a spokesmodel, Chloe Cresta would be the perfect pick. With full, pouty lips, a light, flawless complexion, and eyes like that of the deepest, blue ocean, Chloe was the epitome of the very modeling that she has been partaking in since she was just seven years of age. Since her mother is a successful fashion designer and her father oversees his own car company, it's not a secret that the Crestas are very well off. But, sadly, like her own parents, Chloe's mother and father treasure one of their two daughters. Chloe is showered with the best and only the best while her fraternal twin sister, Annie, gets and is thankful for what she is given.

When she glances back at Peeta, his posture is slumped over a little, unlike before, and a hint of what she can only describe as annoyance is displayed subtly over his face. Katniss tries to hide her smile at his sudden change in expression and he makes it even harder when he rolls his eyes as her turns around to face Chloe herself.

"Hi, Chloe." He greets, his voice on the edge of sounding forced.

"Oh my god, I heard what happened to your car, and I'm so sorry." She states as her hand comes to rest on the sleeve of his varsity jacket. "I asked my dad if he could get someone he trusts to come and personally fix it right up for you."

"That's really nice of you, Chloe, but we've already got it sorted out. And thanks to Katniss here, I wasn't stranded her at the school for a few hours in the cold." Peeta explains.

Never has Katniss ever been so insanely happy that she forgot to braid her hair. This way, it made hiding her blush and her embarrassment a ton easier. She must have zoned out for a second because she didn't hear Peeta's response. The next thing she knew was all of Chloe, and Peeta's, attention is on her. Fucking hell.

Katniss nervously grips her left elbow in her right arm from where she crossed her arms over her non-existing cleavage and looks up to see Chloe looking at her expectantly with Peeta wearing a look of annoyance. It's probably directed at her… she just wish she'd never seen that look on his handsome face directed at her. Maybe that's what stung the most as her heart kind of ached in her chest.

"Um…sorry, did you ask something?" Katniss' voice asks in an embarrassingly timid tone that she wishes she could get rid of.

An exasperated sigh leaves Chloe's light pink, pouty lips. "God, are you as deaf as well as ugly? I asked why you were bothering Peeta here. He said you weren't, but you know him. Always trying to find the good in everyone."

Katniss' grey eyes flit between Peeta's obviously irritated expression and Chloe's haughty smirk plastered across her face.

"Katniss is not deaf." Peeta seethes just as Katniss was about to reply in what she could guarantee would be a stutter.

She notices his fists clench as he turns to face the other girl with narrowed eyes and the annoyance turning into what Katniss can only describe as…anger?

"And she sure as hell isn't anywhere close to being even considered ugly." He says suddenly eerily calm. "The only truth in what you just said, Chloe, is that I do try to find the good in everyone. But right now, I can't say I can find any in you."

There's a moment of silence filled with obvious tension and Katniss can't bring herself to look at either of them; instead, she decides that the floor beneath her combat boots is very interesting.

An indignant huff breaks the silence and Katniss snaps her head up curious.

"I see what you've done, Seam trash." Chloe sniffs. "You've _converted_ him." She spits the word as if it were never meant to be said and stomps off down the hall way from the direction she came vowing she'll fix him so that he'll see 'the light' again.

Katniss is left awkwardly standing at her locker with Peeta still turned away from her. She knows he's going to turn around and most likely tell her that he doesn't ever want to talk with her again, which she totally understands, so she continues to mentally prepare herself for the rejection.

"Are you okay, Katniss? You seem a little shook." Peeta's voice observes.

 _Shaking? Since when did…_

However, when she took her hand away from where it gripped tightly onto her elbow, she noticed that her hands, and whole body for that matter, were trembling. Upon this realization, the unwanted tears sprang to her eyes and her breathing began to quicken.

 _No, not here. Don't cry. Don't fucking break down here of all places and after_ _ **that.**_ _Hold it together. You have to be better than this._

"Katniss?" Peeta's voice asks concerned.

She forces herself to look up at him. Since he is much taller than she is, she practically cranes her neck upward just so she can make eye contact with him. His crystalline blue eyes ooze concern and his eyebrows scrunch together in worry as well. And she doesn't understand why. Why does he have any concern for her? Why does he even stand before her with the look of someone who actually cares for her? What part of ' _freak_ ' or ' _nobody'_ or ' _waste of space_ ' does he not understand? Why does he look at her like he doesn't see what everyone else does?

"I-I'm just…um, c-c-cold. Yeah, that's all. The, um, the school d-doesn't do, you know, a-a very good job of, uh, keeping th-the interior w-warm." She stutters out through her attempts to regulate her breathing. "I-I-I'm sure I-I'll wa-warm up when I get t-to walking to c-class."

"You're cold?" Peeta's voice questions with a raised eyebrow.

She nods her head vigorously hoping he'd buy her sad excuse of a story.

"Oh, alright then." He mumbles, but he doesn't sound too convinced.

She drops her gaze to the floor again as she tries to take in steady breaths to hide that she is on the verge of hyperventilating. After taking a moment to compose herself, she glances up again expecting to find the space that Peeta once stood vacant.

But, he's still there. And before Katniss can make any move or sound of protest, he's stepping towards her closing some of the space between them, shrugging off his black, white, and maroon varsity jacket and draping it over her shoulders, leaving him in a black sweatshirt and a dark pair of jeans that make his eye stand out impossibly more. With a satisfied smile and faintly pink cheeks, he steps back a little.

The odd combination of cinnamon and dill engulfs her senses like the varsity jacket itself and she can't help but like it. Considering it is still a little large on him, it is most certainly _huge_ on her. In fact, it practically swallows her. His jacket is big, and warm, and, dare she say, comforting. She's suddenly aware that her breathing is slowly calming down and the tears that threatened to appear vanish soon enough. Her body is still trembling and the chill in her toes is still present but waning.

"Peeta, you-"

"I want to. You're cold and I'm fine with my sweatshirt. It seems like you need it more than I do anyways." Peeta says as he offers her a small smile.

"No, really, I'll-" Katniss protests as she starts to shrug the warmth off her shoulders.

"Katniss." He says sternly as he stops her from shrugging his jacket off her shoulders and resituating it back on her small shoulders. "It's okay. Besides, it, uh, it looks better on you anyway."

Before she can even reply, the bell rings signaling that everyone should be heading to class. Peeta offers her another smile, this one still a little shy but brighter, before he rushes down the hall with his bag over his shoulder.

He leaves her standing in the middle of the hallway in shock. But once she regains some composure and registers that she needs to get to class, she turns on her heal and begins to walk in the other direction. After a few steps, she stops short to rearrange Peeta's letterman so that she can slip her arms into the large, leather bound sleeves and allows a small smile to spread across her lips as she continues her walk to her first class.

And for once, she doesn't let herself think he did it out of pity or that it was some insane prank by the other guys on the football team nor does she even dwell about what people may think. Instead, she allows herself to feel okay about one thing that she didn't have to do for herself.

She's one of the last students to walk through the door with seconds to spare. As always, she hurries to the back of the room, head down and trying not to trip over bags littering the narrow aisles. Once seated, she opens her book up to look like she's doing something productive as everyone waits for Dr. Betee to enter the classroom. There's murmuring around her and she notices that a few people have been turning around, looking at her, and whispering among themselves.

 _Why are they…oh, right._

"Hey, freak, where'd you get that?"

She is met with the narrowed, brown eyes of Ansley Mayard. Her dark hair has been curled into bouncy curls and she, like Chloe, dons the infamous PINK brand. Ansley is also part of Prim's clique of friends and Katniss knows now that her sister _will_ be hearing of this.

"I, um, I-" She cuts herself off as her stuttering starts to get worse like before and her breathing shift to start coming out irregularly again.

"'I-I-I'," Ansley mocks as a few other girls around them snicker along with her. She lets out a laugh of her own. "You should tell Peeta that just because he fucked a slut doesn't mean he has to treat her like she matters the day after. It just damages his rep."

Dr. Betee chooses that moment to enter the classroom and Ansley flashes her a fake smile as she turns around with a whip of her hair.

Ansley's words play over and over again in her head. Katniss keeps her head low and face down for the rest of the lesson as she doesn't listen to what Dr. Betee has to say. But her mind is thinking at a million miles per hour and the sliver of happiness that she felt before class is crushed and stomped on.

 _Peeta's image is going to become like mine. I can't do that to him. Why did I accept his stupid jacket anyway? I should have just said 'no' and left it at that. Ansley's right…I'm bringing him down just by associating with him. God, why am I so selfish?_

When the bell rings and Katniss jots down the homework after her mind stops torturing her, she closes her book and heads back to her locker to switch books, hoping Peeta would meet her there again so she could give him back his jacket and tell him they shouldn't talk anymore. However, she did still have to give him a ride home later…

"How did you not know that?" A voice nearby asks lowly.

"I don't fucking know, I just never heard!" Retorts the other. "But, who did it?"

"No one knows. Mellark just came out of the school building, walked to the parking lot, got to his car and the tires were already slashed." The first explains.

 _Peeta's tires were slashed? How the hell did I not see that?_

Oh, wait, how could she forget? He was distracting her.

"Shit," The second breathes.

With this new information, Katniss shuts the door to her locker and heads down the hall to her next class. As the day drags on, her mind stays on what she heard by her locker. Who would do something like that to Peeta? And why?

Eventually, lunch rolls around and she hasn't talked to him since this morning. She moves to sit alone towards one of the corners in the cafeteria like she always does and sets her paper bag down on the table. But as she stares down at the bag's contents, her mother's words echo in her head and suddenly, she's not hungry like she was before.

"Katniss?"

Her body goes rigid as she instantly recognizes the voice. Why the fuck is he here?

She looks up and there Peeta stands with his own bag of food and another timid smile on his face. It's pretty cute if you ask her.

 _What? No, shut up._

When she doesn't say anything and continues to look up at him with a blank expression, he clears his throat a little and cautiously sets his own bag down on the table.

"Do you care if I sit here?" He asks.

Her mouth is dry again and she opens it to try to say something, "I-I don't think that's, um, a very g-good idea."

Peeta raises an eyebrow at her and she shifts in her seat a little as she notices people have begun to shoot them questioning looks and narrow-eyed glares. "Uh, why do you think that?"

She purses her chapped lips together and she looks down at her lap before raising her eyes to meet his again. "Just, people will, you know, get the wrong idea." She starts to shrug off his letterman again and is shocked by how cold the room is without it on. Her body shudders a bit.

"No, Katniss." Peeta protests as her reaches out to cover her up again. He takes a seat across from her and leans forward on the table on his elbows. "Did someone say something to you?"

"No." She lies.

"Bullshit." He mumbles.

"They didn't."

"Obviously someone said something."

"Well, when were you going to say someone slashed your tires?" Katniss demands suddenly trying to change the subject.

Peeta lets out a sigh and runs a hand through his hair. "It's not important."

"Yes, it is, Peeta. That's not an _accident_."

"It's fine. We're handling it." Peeta tells her and she knows he's trying to brush it off as nothing. "Now, are you going to tell me who opened their big mouth?"

She slowly shakes her head and looks down at the table as more angry looks are cast at her from the surrounding tables. "Why do you even care? It's not like it matters."

Peeta lets out a groan in frustration. "Yes, it does matter, Katniss. Because believe it or not, I care about what happens to you."

 _Then you'd be the first._ She thinks bitterly.

"I know it makes me look and sound like a coward, but until yesterday, I didn't speak to you because you intimidate the shit out of me." He confesses. "You have this _thing_ about you that makes me nervous and like a fucking moron, I didn't do anything about it because I was a wuss." He lets out a sigh. "I'm sorry, Katniss, we can at least be friends right?"

Friends… she kind of likes the sound of that herself. But if he's serious, she might as well give it a shot. What does she have to lose? She give him a small nod.

"So you'll allow it?" He asks hopefully with a grin plastered across his face.

"I'll allow it." She mutters softly as she offers him a faint smile in return.

* * *

 **AN:** **I told you chapter two was very close to being done! I loved you some thought that Peeta faked his car accident just to spend more time with Katniss; it was something that didn't cross my mind but was happy to see somebody thought about it. Thank you for all the encouragement you've submitted here and on AO3, it really helps me out! Let me know what you think on this chapter and follow me on tumblr if you want purple-space-eyes.** **ALSO: when it comes to updating, I think I will update two chapters back to back and updates in general will come when they can.**


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